The brief glimpse I had had of the warrior women suggested that they were not mere savages but had attained at
least some degree of civilization--their apparel and arms bespoke that. From this I assumed that they must live in a
village; and as they were on foot, it was reasonable to suppose that their village was at no great distance. I was sure
that they must have come out of the forest behind the ship and therefore that it was in this direction I must search for
Duare first.
We had seen no village before landing, as it seemed almost certain that we should have had one of any size existed
within a few miles of our position, for both of us had been constantly on the lookout for signs of the presence of
human beings. To prosecute my search on foot, espeially in view of the presence of the savage carnivores hungrily
anticipating me, would have been the height of foolishness; and if the village of the warrior women were in the open
I could find it more quickly and more easily from the plane.
I was rather weak and dizzy as I took my place at the controls, and only such an emergency as now confronted me
could have forced me into the air in the condition in which I was. However, I made a satisfactory take-off; and once
in the air my mind was so occupied by my search that I almost forgot my hurts. I flew low over the forest and as
silently as a bird on the wing. If there were a village and if it were built in the forest, it might be difficult or even
impossible to locate it from the air, but because of the noiselessness of my ship it might be possible to locate a
village by sound could I fly low enough.
The forest was not of great extent; and I soon spanned it, but I saw no village nor any sign of one. Beyond the forest
was a range of hills, and through a pass in them I saw a well worn trail. This I followed; but I saw no village, though
the landscape lay spread before me for miles around. The hills were cut with little canyons and valleys. It was rough
country where one would least expect to find a village; and so I gave up the search in this direction and turned the
nose of my ship back toward the plain where Duare had been captured, intending to start my search from there in
another direction.
I was still flying very low, covering once more the ground I had just been over, when my attention was attracted by
the figure of a human being walking rapidly across a level mesa. Dropping still lower, I saw that it was a man. He
was walking very rapidly and constantly casting glances behind. He had not discovered the ship. Evidently he was
too much concerned with whatever was behind him, and presently I saw what it was--one of those ferocious lion-
like creatures of Amtor, a tharban. The beast was stalking him; but I knew that it would soon charge, and so I
dropped quickly in a steep dive. Nor was I a moment too soon.
As the beast charged, the man turned to face it with his pitifully inadequate spear, for he must have known that flight
was futile. I had drawn my Amtorian pistol, charged with its deadly r-ray; and as I flattened out just above the
tharban, narrowly missing a crack-up, I let him have it. I think it was more luck than skill that permitted me to hit
him at all; and as he rolled over and over on the ground, I banked, circled the man and made a landing behind him.
He was the first human being I had seen since the capture of Duare, and I wanted to question him. He was alone,
armed only with primitive weapons; and, so, absolutely in my power.
I don't know why he didn't run away; for that airship must have been an appalling thing to him; but he stood his
ground even as I taxied up and stopped near him. It may have been that he was just paralyzed by fright. He was a
small, rather insignificant looking fellow wearing a loincloth so voluminous as to appear almost a short skirt. About
his throat were several necklaces of colored stones and beads, while armlets, bracelets, and anklets similarly
fabricated adorned his limbs. His long black hair was coiled in two knots, one upon either temple; and these were
ornamented with tiny, colored feathers stuck into them like arrows in a target. He carried a sword, a spear, and a